What is the point of meditation? How do you get started?

What is meditation?  It is bringing yourself into the present moment.  Just having one breath being fully present, that is meditation.  
Why do we need to bring ourselves into the present moment? - because that is where our power is, that is where our creativity is, that is where we live our lives.  We don't live in yesterday or tomorrow or this afternoon, we live in the now, the present moment.
We need to spend time alone, in meditation to be able to reconnect with ourselves.  To hear what we need, to hear what we feel.  Meditation allows us to calm the incessant chattering of the mind.  The mind chatters along the whole time.  If we don't spend time alone, we don't see our thoughts for what they are - just passing across our mind.  Meditation allows us to be observers of these thoughts rather than "victims".  We can observe our thoughts and choose which ones we wish to believe, or act upon.
Quiet time alone, enables us to gain divinely inspired ideas, enables us to connect to our needs, to hear what we need.  
I would recommend spending some time alone every day.  Alone and actively working on quieting the mind/not engaging with the thoughts that are travelling across your mind.
I personally find repetitive physical exercise one of the best ways to quieten the thoughts in my head - walking the dog, swimming, running, yoga.
We are so overstimulated with computers, tv, music, radio, adverts, people, social media.  My brain can feel quite frazzled from these at times.  
You could actively choose to switch all these machines off for an amount of time, and see how that feels.
Doing sitting meditation enables you to become more aware of your body, your thoughts, your emotions.  Calming yoga is also great for this.  By focussing on your "postures" and your breathing, the mind is naturally quietened, thus enabling you to do a sitting meditation.
There are many benefits to meditation - it can help reduce your stress levels, it can improve your sleep, can help you feel happier and more contented, can help you feel more connected, it can increase your attention span, improve your immune system and more...
If you have never meditated, you could start by sitting comfortably, with your back upright and just notice 3 breaths - notice the rise and fall of your chest/the air flowing in and out through your nostrils - that is meditation.  If you start doing just this at regular intervals throughout the day, you will most likely, want to increase and do more.
I have some free and low-cost meditations available to download at :
http://www.massagedownloads.com/product/3-minute-breathing-space/
Let me know how you get on!

Don't be jealous of others - life is not a competition............

Life is not a competition.  It is a gradual unfolding and discovering of who you are - if you allow it to be.
Don't be jealous of others.  Don't envy them or their lifestyle or their seemingly perfect life.  
Life is not greener on the other side - it is a different shade of green.
You cant walk in someone elses shoes, only your own.
We are all incredible and important beings.  We all have our own strengths and weaknesses.  If you don't know that already, then what an adventure life could be if you choose to work on finding this out for yourself.
I am reading a book at the moment called "Spontaneous Evolution" by Bruce Lipton.  Part of it is a scientific viewpoint on the law of attraction.  He explains the quantum physics behind how material objects come about.  (His previous book "The Biology of Belief" is better for explaining this however, this is a sequel).
He talks about how humanity is on the brink of destroying itself.  We are poisoning our air, our water, manipulating our seeds, destroying the possibility of pollination etc etc
He describes the human body as a collection of cells.  Each cell is vitally important.  It has its own job to do.  Each cell in itself is like a mini human body - it needs food, water, it uses its energy to action what it needs to do, its excretes waste products.  However, each cell is important in its own right.  A liver cell can't try and be a heart cell, or a red blood cell.  There is not point in competing because it would destroy the body that it is creating.
How would it be if we viewed human beings like this?  We are all sharing one earth.  We are all made of energy, as is everything around us.  We are all vitally important.  We each have a job to do.  But we also need to communicate efficiently, take what we need, perform our activities, any surplus goes to the collective storage point for when it is needed for a certain function/area.
There is no room for competition.  We all need to become in our power.  A liver cell will always be a very poor heart cell, or red blood cell.  It is better to be a well-functioning, healthy liver cell than a poor and weak version of a heart cell.
 Find out who you are, recognise how amazing and important you are.  Allow others to do what they need to do.  Take what you need and no more, trusting that there will always be enough.
If you notice you are feeling envy of someone else, or others, use this as inspiration to create changes in your life.  What can you do today, to make your life more how you would like it to be?
Encourage others to empower themselves.  Don't berate them or criticise them to make you feel better.  It doesn't make you feel better, it belittles you and negates your power.
Support and encourage others, while also supporting and encouraging yourself.  
Humanity is only as strong as it's weakest link.

Do you experience anxiety? Some ideas for working with shifting anxiety.......

So I work up this morning feeling anxious.  Why?  No particular reason!  Nothing is different from yesterday, except today I have an anxious feeling in my stomach area and my mind is looking around for things for me to worry about.  I think the term is "free-floating anxiety."
Was there a conversation that I had yesterday that unsettled or upset me a bit but not enough that I was aware at the time?  Did I have a dream that led to me waking up feeling anxious?
Is it the change in season, the turning in of autumn.  Will I survive the long winter emotionally?
Now that I am feeling anxious, I notice that little things are troubling me today.  I am looking to misinterpret text messages and emails.  My confidence has dropped.  My motivation levels have dropped.  Wow!  What a difference a day makes.  
Yesterday, I was feeling energised, motivated, confident.  Like I knew what I was doing with my life!  Ha!  Not now!
Im sharing this, because I know I am not alone.  This is a common experience, especially amongst women.
So, what to do?  Shall I feed this anxiety, look around for things to worry about, watch the news and feel anxious about the state of the world?  Shall I have irritable conversations with people today?  Shall I lie on the sofa and watch trash tv so I don't have to deal with it?
There is a part of me that wants to do all of those things.
But fortunately today, there is a bigger part of me, that wants to change how I deal with my anxiety.  I am choosing to let go of my anxiety.
I recognise that all feelings/emotions are transient.  They will all pass.  One of my meditation practices is imagining that all my thoughts and feelings are passing across my mind on a conveyor belt.  Occasionally, I see one that I decide to believe.  Today, it was "I am anxious.  I am little.  I am unempowered.  I am vulnerable etc"
  So I have decided to put those ones back on the conveyor belt and pick up another thought/affirmation.  "I am safe."  And another - "I am confident" and another "I am empowered; I am motivated; I am alive and vibrating with energy; I am passionate; I am loved; I am supported by the universe."  Each time I pick another thought, I feel slightly stronger.  
Each time I add to my anxiety by feeding it with another anxious thought, I feel slightly weaker.
So affirmations work for me.  This does need a bit of time and attention.  But I can do it while I'm doing other jobs, walking to work, loading the dishwasher, preparing food etc
Other things that work for me - physical exercise, it quietens my mind.  Especially quiet repetitive exercise like swimming, walking, running.
I also find that doing a chakra clearing meditation (I have one recorded that will be for sale on my website very soon but I can email it to you beforehand if you would like - contact me for more details).
The last thing I would highly recommend, is to be loving with yourself.  Maybe run yourself a nice hot aromatherapy bath; or have an early night with a hot water bottle; or have a quiet night in, listening to some uplifting (not melancholic) music; or going to a yoga/meditation class; or to watch an uplifting (not depressing/thrilling/horror) film.
These techniques can be used for any other emotion that you might be working with - eg anger, sadness.
Hope this helps - would love to hear about any other techniques that you might use!  

Why are you rushing around all the time? What can you do about it? What are you waiting for?

Impatience, irritation and frustration are so common in our society.  We pack our lives with too many things, then rush around from one thing to the next.  We can get frustrated in traffic jams, always trying to get one over on other drivers, overtaking/undertaking, speeding away from the traffic lights.  Do you find yourself sitting at traffic lights frustrated at how long its taking?  Do you find yourself queuing at the supermarket checkout irritated about how slow the person in front  or the cashier are being?  Do you find yourself feeling hurried when getting up and going to work?  Are you stressed in the traffic going to work?

What are you waiting for?  What are your hurrying for?  Whats the rush?
When you get to work, you then spend a lot of the time clock watching for your lunch break, or time to go home. For what?
You're going to get home from the supermarket or from work to go home or somewhere else.  Whats the rush?  
We are always anticipating that the next moment in our lives will be better than the one we are in.  But the next moment is just another moment and our life is made up of these moments.  Our life can be found in all these moments, in the traffic jam, in the queue at the checkout, in the walking to work.
We rush home to what?  To spend time with our family?  To have our dinner?  To relax?  When you're with your family, are you 100% with them or are you thinking about what job you need to do next, cook dinner, sort out the washing.  
Or are you carrying stress or overthinking from the day you've had at work, or a difficult conversation you had with a friend?  do you really relax?  When you're cooking dinner are you rushing to cook dinner because theres something on tv?  Or you're going out with friends?  When you're out with friends are you 100% present?  Or are you thinking that you need to keep an eye on the time because you don't want to have a late night because you have to get up for work.
So many of us work to live and live to work.  What for?  We then look forward to our 2 week holiday, where we can relax and spend time with our family or friends.  Do we relax, are we present on our holiday?  Do we know how to be present?  Maybe we unwind for the first week, but then the 2nd week is often spent, wistfully counting down the days until the holiday ends and we're back to work.
Some of us love our work, but are still spending a lot of time clock-watching, hurrying to the next task.  
Not meaning to be depressing but this is how a lot of us spend a lot of our time: clock-watching, waiting for the next thing to happen, hurrying from one task to another, wishing away the time we spend queuing, commuting, travelling, wishing our lives away, looking forward to our next holiday.  Then when we have an activity we really want to be in, we are untrained in knowing how to enjoy the moment, so that moment passes all too soon, and we didn't even relish it and enjoy it to the full.

Observe the sitting in the traffic.  Let the car in the side road come in front of you.  Notice your frustration.  Drive at the speed limit.  How does that feel?  Frustrating?

Our life is happening in the moment.  Right now.  How do we become in the moment, the present moment, the here and now?  We stop.  Right now.  Breathe.  Notice our breath.  Notice the rise and fall of our chest.  Notice the sounds around you.  Notice the colours around you.  Notice your physical body.  Are you aware of your hands, your back, your feet, the muscles of your face.

I think most of us would agree, ultimately, we want to feel peace of mind, contentment, happiness.

The more we practise being in the present moment, the more peace we invite into our lives.  Our creative power is in the here and now.

Courses, workshops and meditation groups in Brighton with Elaine Gibbons.

www.elainegibbons.co.uk

Do you want to create change in your life - a How to guide.....

Change is all that is happening, every moment of every day.
I love this ancient chinese proverb "The only certain thing in life is change"
According to quantum physics, matter (human beings, computers, rocks, trees, water) is formed of atoms, which consists of subatomic particles constantly moving.  It has been recognised that we affect these particles with our attention and our intention.  We are surrounded by an energy field that responds to our thoughts/intention/attention/beliefs/  So we are literally creating our lives with our thoughts.  Atoms that are resonating at the same frequency attract each other.  Our thoughts have a magnetic field effect.
To start the process of creating change, you need to initially get really clear about what you want, where you want to be heading, what your vision is.  If you don't give the universal energy field a clear picture about what you wish to draw into your life, it will respond to your most dominant thoughts.
Thoughts are creative.  Every item or object was once just a thought or idea in someone's mind.
I personally have moments where I am completely going with the flow of what is happening in my life and other times where I have huge amounts of resistance and frustration.  
Then there is the issue with belief!  Surely I can't ask for something that seems so far from where I am right now?
When you are asking for something you want to create in your life, your negative beliefs about not receiving can be so strong )for whatever reason) that a huge amount of negativity can come up, which needs to be processed/released to effect change and movement in thoughts.
Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now) talks about how the ego doesn't want change and we create resistance.  He says, when faced with a situation you don't want, you either take steps to change it, or you accept it, everything else is futile, a waste of energy and taking away your power from the present moment; the power that comes with knowing that thoughts are creative.
Your thoughts of today are creating your tomorrows.

Do you work with affirmations? A "How To" guide:

Working with affirmations:
Affirmations can be a really powerful tool to work with when you're looking to invite changes into your life.  

When you are sitting with your vision board/visualisation (that we have discussed in previous blogs) or you have written your dream down in a beautiful journal; or you have created a beautiful collage with magazine cuttings/pictures and you are starting to work with this visualisation a few minutes each day; maybe you have started sharing this vision with a friend or others and you are getting yourself some support with your dream manifestation.  
Working with affirmations can then really help support this work and move it on.

So, take yourself to this dream scenario/vision, and imagine that you are already living this life, what would you beliefs have to be if you were already living this dream life?  Sit with this for a few moments.  Start writing down these beliefs, in the present tense. 

For example:
I am loved
I am supported
I am wealthy
I am abundant
I am living in my dream house
I am living with my ideal partner,
I am surrounded with love and support
I am vibrating with perfect health
I am happy
I am vibrant
I am alive and enjoying life
I am in my dream job.  I am supported and acknowledged at work.

Start writing all these beliefs down.  Ideally start the affirmation with I am.  Use the present tense.  Maybe start putting them around your house.  

One of the ways of working with affirmations is when you say "I am wealthy" for example, then notice your negative thoughts and feelings that come up when you say it.  So if you say "I am vibrating with perfect health" - what thoughts then follow that - it might be
"oh but I'm not really"  "My back hurts"  " I have got arthritis" "I am in pain." 
Write these negative thoughts down, write them down and release them.  Ask your higher self to transmute this negativity, to help you release these beliefs that are no longer serving us.  Let go of these negative thoughts.  Because if you want to create this vibrant health, or these perfect finances, or this ideal job, we need to let go of our negative thought patterns and beliefs around it, because the universe doesn't give back to us what we think, it gives back to us what we believe.

So we can be saying/repeating "I am a wealthy person" but in our heads believing that we are not, that we are in fact poor.  

You could start by saying "I am choosing to allow wealth into my life"  This might feel more believable.  Go back to an affirmation that you can believe and that you can start to work with.  "I am intending to attract more money into my life."  "I am starting to believe that I can become more wealthy."
I am intending to be vibrantly healthy.  I am asking for guidance and diving inspiration for  ideas that help me in achieving perfect health.

Its really important to release the negative, don't ignore it, if it's there, we need to bring it to our awareness to be able to observe it and release it and to start choosing to believing more supportive thoughts.

I am choosing to believe that anything is possible.
I am intending to start to believe that there are other ways of attracting what I want into my life.

Buddha  " We are a result of all we have thought"

When you are working with these affirmations and your visualisation of your dream, don't sit around wondering how you are going to create this new life.  Don't get into your intellectual rational logical brain about how things are going to change.  
Just give this information about your new thoughts and beliefs to the universe and watch it return and reflect back to you, what you are thinking about and creating.  Hand it over.  This is what I want, I am changing my thought pattern, I am raising my energetic field to receive more of what I want into my life and then wait to see what the universe gives back to you. 

See what new people and situations come into your life.  The conversations you overhear or have with others.  The books you happen to start reading.  The tv programs you are drawn to watch.  Notice the divine symbols and inspired guidance that is coming your way.  Listen to your inner voice.  Act on any intuitive thoughts and feelings you have.  Follow any divinely inspired ideas that come to you.
Start looking out for divine signs and inspiration!  Enjoy the journey!

Transform your Life: Follow your Dreams

Courses, groups, workshops from September 2015

www.elainegibbons.co.uk

Working with Divine Inspiration. Dare to be different.

Look out for divine signs, inspired ideas and synchronicities - follow these to your dream life!

Following on from previous blogs, you've worked through the previous suggestions, you have got your vision board, you have done some visualisation of your dreams, maybe started working with a friend/support group.  You've got some clarity, handed it over to the universe, working with some affirmations.  The more you do this work, the more energy you give to this, the closer your dream becomes.

But your dream life is going to come to you through certain channels.  For example, it might be that if you are looking for a dream house, you can't just sit and visualise, you still need to act.  You need to contact the agents and tell them what you want.  Go and visit some places.  If you want a new amazing job, get as clear as you can about all the qualities and then start asking around, looking in the job adverts, applying, going for interviews etc

So when you are handing your vision over to the universe, and you're working with your affirmations, and your 30 day diet of breaking the habit of negative thinking, you're really starting to introduce positive thoughts into your life that will take you in the direction of your dreams; you do then need to start looking out for Divine Signs/Symbols.  

It might be conversations you overhear, books that are recommended, a conversation you have with a friend, something you read on a billboard, or the side of a lorry.  A lorry drove past me yesterday with the only words along the side "Follow your Dreams"!!!  What are the chance of that!

How are you feeling, what's your intuition, what are your hunches?  Follow your heart.  What is your heart saying to you, follow your feelings, follow your passion.  This is how we "hear" our inner voice, through our feelings.

Through meditation, we can quieten our mind, or through gentle and/or repetitive exercise - yoga/walking/swimming/running.  Sometimes a flash of inspiration can come to you.  Don't sit and try and think out how or what to do with your logical brain.  You need to sit quietly, quieten the mind and feel.

Sometimes you get a sudden bolt of an idea.  But more often, it's a quiet whisper.  Call a friend, or watch this program, or read this article, or go to this place.  Follow these whisperings.  The more you listen to and follow your intuition, the louder it becomes.  It is a practice and all new practices need discplined practise.  Dare to be different.  Follow your dreams.  Be brave.  Where is your passion.  Follow your heart.  What motivates you.  Don't follow the crowd.  Have confidence in your intuition.  Your soul calls to you through your dreams/your passions.  

Notice the signs and the symbols that are coming from the universe.

Expect change in your life.  If you are asking for change, expect things to start changing.  Change can feel really scary.  There's a leap into the unknown.  Have faith.  Sometimes things seem to be dropping away from you and you didn't expect that to happen.  Expect the unexpected.  Be courageous.  Some people leave your life, some people start to come into your life.  You might not be getting on well with people that you have known for years.  Maybe their energy no longer resonates with yours.  But you will also be attracting new people into your life, that resonate more closely to where you are now at.
Maybe you want a new job. Maybe you lose your job - which can feel very traumatic and worrying.  Trust the process.  You have to let go of certain things to create space for new things to come to you.
Ask the universe for what you want, then start to believe that you can have this, then you have to receive it.  ASK BELIEVE RECEIVE.  This means that you need to change and to expect changes.

Question yourself.  Challenge your current beliefs.  Is this particular belief still working for you?  Does it make sense that you are still clinging on to a particular belief?  Do you need to start choosing to believe different things, that life can be different?

Work with meditation and mindfulness.  Do you want to carry on choosing to believe the range of thoughts that travel across your mind?  Or can you observe and detach.  Then choose to believe more life-enhancing thoughts.

Transform your Life : Follow your Dreams

Courses, groups, meditations in Brighton from November 6th.

www.elainegibbons.co.uk

What makes you feel good? Do it - and change the world at the same time!

Oh its so easy to complain and moan about life - the weather, how expensive everything is, how unwell we feel, how cold/hot we are, how old/wrinkled/fat/thin/unfit we are.  How many tragedies there are in the world and how we cant do anything about it, how corrupt our politicians are.    Some of us just seem to be innately pessimistic and negative.

It is great to know that we can change.  We can start changing today, right now.  We can look around us and notice something we are grateful for.  We can observe something good in our lives, in the world around us, in our partner, our boss, our challenging child, our bodies.  The minute we start shifting our focus, our energy starts shifting.  This then has a knock on effect on everyone we come into contact with.  If we all did this, every day, within such a short time, the world would be a much easier place to live in.

We need to focus using our energy on feeling good.  I have already discussed the major benefits of gratitude.  But this blog is discussing what we can do if we are stuck in a negative mindset.  How do we shift our energy focus right now, today.  What makes you feel good?  What thing/person/statement/object could make you feel better right now today?  I highly recommend making a list of things that you know make you feel better.  I call these "mood shifters"

Mood shifters.  As we are starting to work with more positive thoughts that are taking us in the direction of our dreams, maybe using some affirmations, we want to be feeling good.  Normally the reason why most people want change in their life , is they want to feel good.  You want to enjoy your life.  Enjoy what you're doing all day.
You cant be feeling good and thinking negative thoughts and you cant be feeling bad and thinking positive thoughts.
Your feelings are a good indicator, a good feedback system for where your mental activity is focussed right now.  If you aren't feeling good, you are thinking negatively.  Stop.  Observe what you are thinking.  Try and detach.   If this isn't possible then you need to start working with some "mood shifters".
Write down a list of things that you know that make you feel better (as long as nothing is done at the expense of others or might cause others suffering).  It might be music - uplifting or motivational music (RESPECT by Aretha Franklin is currently going around in my head!!); it might be having a hot bath; it might be walking in nature; it might be talking to a friend/family member;
If you aren't feeling good, then do something from your mood shifters list.
If you then notice that you don't want to do one of these things that you know will make you feel better - notice that!  Observe.  That's very interesting.  Why wouldn't we want to do something that you know will make you feel better.  Why are you self-sabotaging?  It is normally because the ego is resistant to change and wants us to stay as we are.  Stay with our old habits of negative thinking.  Even though its not great for us, its familiar and the ego likes familiarity.
Dont allow your ego to sabotage the new you.  If you want to see change in your life, start doing things differently, start attending to your needs, start honouring your desire to feel good.
Eat well, exercise your body.  These things make you feel good.
Write your mood shifters list now.

Some suggestions:
Hot bath
Walk in nature - woodland/beach
Massage
Music - uplifting anthems
Make a photo album that reminds you of happy memories
Going out with a friend
Having a good meal with a friend
Going to a comedy night
Watching a comedy film
Chatting with a friend
Walking barefoot on the grass
Reading uplifting books
Sunshine
Going on holiday somewhere hot
Swimming
Yoga
Walking the dog
Burning candles/sage/incense
Dancing
Having a log fire
Meditation

Remember, its not indulgent to change something/to shift your mood/to want to feel good.  Its vitally important.   The more people that start doing this today, the ripple effect goes out far and wide.  As individuals we can make a difference.  Do something different today - feel good!

Follow your Dreams and transform your life - course, groups and meditations from September 2015 in Brighton.

www.elainegibbons.co.uk

Follow your Dreams - daily techniques to enable this!

There are techniques you can use on a daily basis to support you creating your dream life.  If, for example, you are doing the 30 day "break the habit of negative thinking" diet (see previous blog); there are lots of different things you can do daily.
I really recommend daily work as it is habit forming.  We are creatures of habit.  If you want to create change, you have to start changing things in your life.  Its no good just changing it for a couple of days, or a couple of hours, you need to set up a new habit that helps you to create what you want in your life.

• Gratitude - is a very useful technique to start working with.  Do not underestimate the benefits of working with gratitude.  So if you are thinking "what do I have to be grateful for?" then look around you.  There will always be something.  Maybe it's your health.  Maybe it's that you have enough food to eat.    What about a house?  Do you have a house to live in - that is warm and comfortable enough?  Then you have that to be grateful for.  Think of how many people there are on this planet that don't have their basic human needs being met.  Even if you don't own your house and you are renting; even if you are having to claim benefits to be able to afford your house, you can be grateful that you live in a society that supports you.  What about clothes, do you have enough clothes?  Dont ever think that you dont have anything to be grateful for.  There might be a lot of things you want to change in your life.  You might dislike your job, and you might be thinking how can I be happy and grateful when I have this job and just look forward to the weekend.  Do you have a partner - that you love and that loves you?  Do you have children?  Parents?  Do you have your health? All of these things can add to a long list of things in our life that we can feel grateful for.  The more energy you give to all these things in your life that you can be grateful and thankful for; the more you give thanks and gratitude to the universe on a daily basis - the more the universe will respond to you by giving back more and more things for you to be grateful for.  What you focus on expands.  If you spend your time complaining, then you will attract more things into your life for you to complain about.  So gratitude is a very useful, possibly the number 1 daily technique that I would recommend.  I would recommend setting a reminder on your phone/computer to pop up three times a day to ask you to think of up to 10 things that you feel grateful for right at that moment.
• Journal writing.  This is another tool that you can use on a daily basis that can help you create new habits of more useful ways of thinking;  ways that are drawing more good things to you, more of the things you want in your life.  Maybe you would use your journal to debrief at the end of the day.  Look over the day, dont berate yourself, dont ever use it as a tool to punish yourself "what have I done wrong?"  Debrief from your day.  Did I spend all morning complaining about something?  What can I do differently tomorrow?  
• Look at your vision board.  Give it energy.  Look at it for 5 minutes a day, focus on your vision.  Maybe add something to it.  Refine/clarify.  Trust that you will receive this or more for your highest good.  Use your imagination, and imagine yourself in that dream life for 5 minutes a day.  Feel how good that feels.
• Meditation/mindfulness.  Both of these are very helpful if not essential!  They help us to draw quiet times into our lives.  They give us time out.  Time to observe our breathing.  Time to observe our thoughts at that time.  Turn inwards.  Become less attached to all the drama going on around us.  There are meditation apps, mediation/mindfulness groups in every town, meditations on youtube.  Try it out.  I would really recommend a minimum of 10 minutes per day, ideally half an hour, twice daily.  Or you might want to try a weekend mediation retreat - there are plenty around the country.  This longer meditation space enables your chattering mind to really quieten down, which enables you to hear your inner self.
• Reading inspiring/uplifting books.  Spiritual books, law of attraction books, mindfulness books.  Please see previous blog for recommend authors.  Or quotes on facebook/twitter.  Seeing these on our newsfeed can be really helpful/useful messages at particular times.
• Start the day with "Thank you".  The first two words that come out of your mouth as you awake could be thank you.  Thank you that I have woken up to this new day of infinite possibilities.  Thank you with each footstep as you walk to the bathroom, thank you for your hot shower, for you flushing toilet, for your tap water, for your soft towel, for your warming clothes etc  How lucky and blessed we are.

Transform your Life: Follow your Dreams!

Workshops, courses, groups from September 2015.

www.elainegibbons.co.uk

What is success? Are you successful? Do you want to be successful?

I recently read a magazine interview with Natalie Imbruglia talking about how when she rose to fame she was "highly successful and famous but desperately unhappy".  This got me thinking - what is our definition of success?  The implication in the interview was that money and fame is success - but if she was "desperately unhappy" how could you call yourself successful?  

One of my passions in life is to help people to have successful lives.  But what does that mean?  How do we evaluate success?  It depends on so many factors.  We all come from different starting points and all have a different path to lead in life.  I think a lot of people in the western nations would call themselves successful if they have plenty of money,  a "good" job, a good house and a loving family.  But what is a good job?  One that pays well?  One that is reliable/secure?  How much money do you personally need to feel successful?  Is success a state of mind?  One persons success ie a "good" job could feel like another's prison.

In western nations, you are considered successful if you are a high academic achiever.  Does that ultimately make you happy though?  And if you are wealthy.  Does money make you happy/successful?

What about if your strength isn't academically?  How can you then achieve success in the eyes of society?  Do you need to be successful in the eyes of the society you live in?

It concerns me that our individual expression is being discouraged.  Our education systems seem to encourage lack of individual thinking.  Some secondary schools are phasing out the Arts as they aren't deemed to be decent subjects - in the eyes of whom?  The universities looking to get the bright children on their courses so they can then work in pressured stressful office jobs for years, hooked by the golden handcuff promise of a good pension and private health care.

We seem to have become a society that expects to feel stressed and busy most of the time.  I'm shocked by how many of my clients seem to be resigned to stress being a "normal" part of their daily lives for many years.  How can living from an adrenalised place be natural/normal or something we want to promote?

If you want to achieve success in your life, maybe you need to start by defining what success looks like for you.  Just you.  Not for your parents, your friends, your religious upbringing, your society.  But just for you.  It is easier to get to where you want to go, if you know where you are heading.

Maybe success is having a goal/dream and working towards that, embracing the lessons you learn along the way.  Maybe success for you is finding an inner contentment.  Knowing that even though some days you may be observing your predominant emotion is sadness or anger, that deep within you have a level of contentment and confidence that you are ok.  At a soul level, all is well.

My passion is encouraging people to live their lives fully, feeling confident and brave enough to follow their divinely inspired dreams and visions.  Sometimes we may need to take risks.  But do we want to look back and have regrets, or feel like we have wasted our life? or played it too safely?  Following our passions and dreams makes us feel alive.

I am running mini life-coaching courses from 25th September in Brighton on Friday mornings and Monday evenings, supporting and encouraging people to follow their dreams and living a full and passionate life.  I also offer one-to-one life coaching in person, via telephone or skype. 

Please go to my website www.elainegibbons.co.uk for more information and to book.

Share your dreams with others - getting support.

Get support from others - a friend or a group of friends who also want some change in their life.  Spend some time reading some books around the law of attraction/upliting spiritual books.  Start a book club - read a book a month or a week and then get together and talk through what you have learnt.  Spiritual books like these are very spiritually uplifting.  You can often feel your energy field increasing while you are reading these books.
Get together with at least one other person who also wants to change something in their life, who you are similar to.  Start this work with support.  Share your dreams and visions with your support group.  This process can really move on your creating of your dreams so much quicker.  It can really help break your negative thought patterns:
I cant change things.  It is just how it is.  I am not deserving.  This isnt possible.  I dont know what to do.
What do you want?  Only give your energy to what you do want.  Start visualising, imagining, focussing on this new life - draw it to you.  Ask the universe.  Allow it to come in.
In your support group, each take turns to describe what you want, in as much detail as possible.  Get them to ask you questions about your dream as if you are currently living it.  Describe your dream in the present tense.  Tell them how your life is in this dream scenario.  Describe it by using your senses - what can you see? what can you hear?  how does it smell?  how does it feel?  Describe your emotions.  Where do you live?  What is your job?  Who do you have in your life with you?  How much money do you have?  Describe it fully to your support group.  This is powerful work.  Getting support can really shift things for you.

Recommended authors:

Eckhart Tolle
Deepak Chopra
Esther and Jerry Hicks
Dalai Lama
Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer
Wayne Dyer
Jack Canfield
Paulo Coelho
Jason Chan
Thich Nhat Hanh

“Transform your Life: Follow your Dreams!” - groups workshops and courses from September 2015.www.elainegibbons.co.uk

Do you want to create changes in your life? Moving forward and using your imagination.

After you have spent some time getting really clear and visualising what you do want in your life (see previous blog "Do you want change in your life?  How to gain clarity?") -  Maybe you've created a vision board, put the vision board on a wall in your house, or on your fridge, somewhere where you see it every day.  And every time you see it, add some more energy to it.  Maybe get clearer about some aspects on it.  Maybe refine it slightly, or add an extra word or two.
Then create another quiet moment in sacred space for yourself, either sitting quietly somewhere in nature - the beach or the woods or a park, or a lovely room in your house/a warm candlelit bath, or your garden.  Then focus back on that visualisation/vision board you have worked on; what you really want to create in your life.  Now really start working with your imagination.  
So you've got this vision of where you want to go - maybe its a new job, or a new house, or a new partner, maybe its improved finances, maybe its a better sense of well-being, better health.  Then really visualise yourself as if you are already living that.
For example,  if it's better health you want - say you have digestive troubles, or you are living with pain, chances are your vision is about you being pain-free, you don't want to live with pain anymore, pain is very challenging, you want to live with ease, with vibrant health.  Really visualise yourself moving well, your body is so comfortable to live in, you being able to do all the things you want to do with your physical body which is so comfortable and easy.  Visualise yourself sleeping well, eating well, you're attracted to the right sort of foods for you.  You are attracted to the right sort of exercise for you and motivated to do it because your body loves to move and is so flexible and mobile.  Really visualise yourself being like that.
Or maybe it is a house you want to live in, or maybe its the new job you want to be in, really visualise yourself being in that place.  
And when you have really got that image, that vision in your head, really imagine yourself being in that scenario right now.  Right now.  Really imagine that.  Let your imagination go wild and free.  Really go with it.  
And then ask yourself the question - if this was my current life, what beliefs would I have to have about my life for this to be true?
So if its about a house, visualise this house in this perfect location for you, and just say:
I am living in this beautiful, ideal location
The house I live in perfectly suits all my needs and desires
I can easily afford this house.
Or this body of mine:
I am comfortable in this body.
I am vibrating with incredible health.
I feel alive.
I feel well.
Write some of these things down.  What would your beliefs be about your life, your health,  if you were living your ideal dream life scenario.
I am happy.  I am peaceful.  I am passionate.  I feel alive.  I am excited by life.  All of these things.  What are your beliefs?
By doing this exercise, this really helps you keep the focus on what you do want in your life.  The law of attraction gives back to you what you focus your energy on.  So the more time you spend, the more passion you put in to visualising and imagining, feeling those feelings of living that dream life scenario, the closer it comes, the more real it feels.  Our subconscious mind can't tell the difference between reality and imagination.  It returns to us, what we think about regularly and frequently with passion and belief.
Try it, do this for a month, do it as an experiment.  See if things start to change in your life.  
I really like the idea of the 30 day diet - break your negative thought patterns/focus on what you do want/visualise and imagine/put your energy into your feelings of what it would feel like to have this dream life.  Do it as an experiment and see what starts to change for you.  For 30 days, imagine your dream life scenario for 10-15 minutes daily and give no energy or attention to any negative situations in your life/complaining.  Only give your energy and attention and focus and passion to the dream life scenario you are heading towards.
Watch what comes into your life, notice any ideas/hunches/divine inspiration comes to you.  Notice coincidences and synchronicities.  Start taking any divinely inspired action that comes to you.  Start with small changes daily.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"  Lao Tzu

"Transform your Life: Follow your Dreams"

Courses, workshops and groups from September 2015

www.elainegibbons.co.uk

Do you want change in your life? How do you gain clarity?

So you want some change in your life? You want something to be different in your life?  You would like at least one aspect of your life to be different for you?  Is it a relationship, your health, your finances, a job, is it where you live?  
How clear are you about what change you want in your life?  You can only create the change you want in your life by focusing on what you want.  Do you know what you really want?  If you give vague messages to the universe about possibly wanting something to be different/better, the universe has no clarity.  Do you spend all of your time complaining about how your life is right now and how it isn't right for you?
For the universe to be able to give back to you what you want, you have to tell it really clearly what you want.  Don't tell it what you don't want, because it doesn't hear the negative.  It only responds to the amount of energy you are putting into something.  So the more energy you are putting into complaining about what is happening in your life and how fed up your are with it, the more energy you are putting into that situation being a presence in your life.  
The way to create and to invite the change you want to see, is by focusing your energy on that , with passion and vigour and enthusiasm.  
It is well worth spending a fair amount of time on getting clear about what you want.
Maybe go to a quiet place in nature, sitting on a beach, in some woodland, in a large parkland, sitting in your garden, or sitting in a lovely room in your house, or a hot bath quietly.  Maybe burn some candles and/or some incense and just really give yourself that time to really focus on what you do want in your life.  Don't get too much into over-thinking in your head.  Allow your divine inspiration to come to you in your daydreaming, you night dreaming, your sudden flashes of inspiration.  Maybe if you paint or draw, or create with your hands, you might gain clarity while working in this way.
The only time to that it is useful to notice what you don't want is to allow yourself to have the contrast which can then give you more clarity about what you do want.
For example, if you dislike your job, or your colleagues, or your manager , or you don't think you're paid enough and you find yourself complaining about this a lot, the more energy you put into complaining, even if you change your job, you will keep getting more to complain about in your new job.  So observe this negativity as a piece of information but dont give any more of your energy to it.
If for example you don't get on with your manager, to manifest a good manager, write down what qualities you would like in a manager, your ideal manager would probably be one that supports you, that acknowledges you, that recognises what good work you do, who gives you stimulating work appropriate to your age and skill set and experience and financially remunerates you appropriately too.
Notice the aspects in your current job which you don't like, to enable you to gain clarity on what you do want.  Write down what you want, create yourself a vision board, use pictures/words from magazines, cut them out, stick them on.  Use colours, painting, words.
And/or write a journal, start jotting down your thoughts and ideas.
Do something every day, refine these ideas, what is the essence of what you want to see in your life?  
It is important to have a daily practice.  To create movement and change, start doing something daily in the direction of your dreams.  I can't emphasise this enough.  Sometimes the bigger picture can be overwhelming so just start with what you can do today.  Who knows where this may lead?  But it does definitely create movement and with movement comes change.
If its a new house you want to manifest, you might not know exactly how this house will look, but what qualities do you want to get from this new house?  What will living in this new place bring to your life?  Do you want space, light, lovely neighbours, parking?  Write down what you do know you want from this new house.
Only give energy to what you do want.  When you notice your mind start wandering and starting to go back to that complaining, as soon as you notice you are doing this, don't give any more energy to that.  Keep the focus on what you do want.  Distract yourself if you need to, but whatever you do, stop giving energy to the negative.  
If you want change , you have got to start doing things differently, regularly and frequently, however small.

"Transform your Life: Follow your Dreams"  Workshops, courses and groups from September 2015.  www.elainegibbons.co.uk  Book your place now.

Focus on what you want

Focus all your thoughts and energy on what you do want to have, see, be, do in your life.  Don't give any more energy to what you don't want.
What you focus on expands.
The power is in the now, the present moment.  Our creative thoughts of today are creating our tomorrows.
What do you want to see in your life?  What do you want to have in your life?  What do you want to do and be in your life?
The more energy and passion you put into focusing on this and acting on any divinely inspired ideas, the closer this new life will come for you.

Lets send our governments blessings of love, peace and compassion!

Universal energies reflect back to us what we focus most of our energy on. Lets focus on having a government that acts with compassion and peace. A government that pledges to put the needs of our most vulnerable community members first; a government that values the importance of looking after our environment and the creatures that share this planet with us. Lets send our blessings of peace to them, that they can act with wisdom and love.
Lets collectively visualise a world where everyone is safe, fed, cared for, has enough food/shelter/clothing. Lets visualise a world where our leaders are wise and compassionate. Lets visualise a world where we all care for our planet.
What you focus on expands.
Let us use our energy wisely and visualise the best for everyone. Don't waste your energy on fear, anxiety and anger. Use your passion to focus on what you do want; put your energy into projects that work towards your vision. Lets change this world positively together.

If you were guaranteed to succeed what would you be doing?

Someone asked me recently, if you were guaranteed to succeed with anything you wanted to do, what would you be doing?

Well the answer to that only took me a few minutes to come up with, it was very close to the surface.  Is it what I'm now doing?  Not entirely.  Are you doing what you would love to be doing?  Are you following your heart?  Living your dream life?  If not, why not?

Why aren't you doing it then, if its something you would really like to be doing? I observe that what comes up for me is a combination of:  Fear of failure. Fear of ridicule.  Knowing that there's lots of other people around already doing it.  They'be been doing it for longer. They're possibly more qualified, more experienced.  Why would people want to come to me?  I haven't even written a book yet!

I generally feel that I'm a fairly confident person in most areas of my life but I was surprised at my lack of confidence and vulnerability at the thought of putting myself out there in the public arena, offering new services to the public.  I've even read the book, "Feel the fear and do it anyway"

I'm sure that this is a very human condition, and that I'm not alone.  I think that fear of failure and ridicule is very commonplace.  I then remind myself that a lot of the well known inspirational people out there, 2 of whom immediately spring to mind - JKRowling and Henry Ford, (I dont know why I picked those 2!).  JK Rowling had numerous rejections before her book was published and Henry Ford had many setbacks - the rest is history as they say.
It feels easier to carry on doing what I'm currently doing (and that is fine as I do still really enjoy my work and plan to continue in any case).  

I feel like there is a passion inside me that wants to reach out.  Do you have those feelings? I read a lot of spiritual books, and recently read about how our purpose here is for our soul to expand.  Our consciousness to expand.  Change and expansion is a part of who we are, our life purpose.

How do we create change in our lives?

Change is all that is happening, every moment of every day.
I love this ancient chinese proverb "The only certain thing in life is change"
According to quantum physics, matter (human beings, computers, rocks, trees, water) is formed of atoms, which consists of subatomic particles constantly moving.  It has been recognised that we affect these particles with our attention and our intention.  We are surrounded by an energy field that responds to our thoughts/intention/attention/beliefs/  So we are literally creating our lives with our thoughts.  Atoms that are resonating at the same frequency attract each other.  Our thoughts have a magnetic field effect.
To start the process of creating change, you need to initially get really clear about what you want, where you want to be heading, what your vision is.  If you don't give the universal energy field a clear picture about what you wish to draw into your life, it will respond to your most dominant thoughts.
Thoughts are creative.  Every item or object was once just a thought or idea in someone's mind.
I personally have moments where I am completely going with the flow of what is happening in my life and other times where I have huge amounts of resistance and frustration.  
Then there is the issue with belief!  Surely I can't ask for something that seems so far from where I am right now?
When you are asking for something you want to create in your life, your negative beliefs about not receiving can be so strong )for whatever reason) that a huge amount of negativity can come up, which needs to be processed/released to effect change and movement in thoughts.
Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now) talks about how the ego doesn't want change and we create resistance.  He says, when faced with a situation you don't want, you either take steps to change it, or you accept it, everything else is futile, a waste of energy and taking away your power from the present moment; the power that comes with knowing that thoughts are creative.
Your thoughts of today are creating your tomorrows.